President Trump didn’t hold back his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was “very angry” and “pissed off” over stalled peace talks. He also warned of severe tariffs on Moscow’s oil in response.
Trump appeared to have had enough after Russia threw up new conditions before agreeing to a U.S.-backed deal aimed at limiting attacks in the Black Sea and protecting energy infrastructure.
Trump specifically blasted a report revealing that Putin had called for a transitional government in Ukraine, one that would oust President Volodymyr Zelensky. Even more brazenly, Putin suggested that Ukraine’s generals should take matters into their own hands and remove Zelensky themselves.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told Kristen Welker of “Meet The Press” on Sunday.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” Trump added. “There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
The New York Post has more:
Trump warned that the tariffs against Russia would come within a month if a cease-fire deal isn’t reached.
Despite Trump echoing Moscow’s claims against Zelensky’s legitimacy earlier this year, the president pivoted and condemned Putin’s comments. He said such words were “not going in the right location.”
The president, however, said he still maintains a “very good relationship” with Putin, and added that his anger would quell so long as the Russian strongman “does the right thing.”
The two world leaders are expected to speak again this week to try and move the cease-fire along, Trump told NBC.
The Trump administration continues to push for an end to the war to fulfill the president’s campaign promise, with the US securing two cease-fire agreements last week to halt attacks against each nation’s energy grid and in the busy Black Sea trade route.
As you know, Moscow violated both agreements within hours and then demanded a series of new conditions to fulfill the deal, including calls for Europe to lift sanctions on Russian businesses.
“Mr. Trump’s remarks also reflected his increasing promise to use tariffs to compel countries to bend to his domestic and foreign policy goals,” the New York Times reported. “In the same phone call, he said he would consider secondary tariffs on Iran if it did not reach a deal with the United States to ensure it did not develop a nuclear weapon, Ms. Welker said.”
“If they [Iran] don’t make a deal, here will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump said.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump sent the letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging direct negotiations with the government in Tehran on a deal to curb the country’s advancing nuclear program. The letter said Mr. Trump he preferred diplomacy to military action.
Mr. Trump’s raising of secondary tariffs on oil from Russia and Iran was the latest example of the president trying to use the prospect of economic pressure on third-party nations.
According to CNBC, Trump and Putin plan to speak again this week.
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